Fly Past

NEWS THE LATEST IN AVIATION HERITAGE

6 FLYPAST May 2018

World War Two carrier and aircraft discovered in South Pacifi c

Wreckage from the USS Lexington was

discovered on March 4 by the crew

of Research Vessel Petrel, which is

owned by Microsoft co-founder and

philanthropist Paul G Allen, who also

owns the Washington-based Flying

Heritage Combat & Armor Museum.

The Lexington was found 3,000m

(approximately 1.9 miles) below the

surface, resting on the fl oor of the Coral

Sea around 500 miles off the eastern

coast of Australia. Paying tribute to

the aircraft carrier’s crew Paul said:

“As Americans, all of us owe a debt of

gratitude to everyone who served and

who continue to serve our country

for their courage, persistence and

sacrifi ce.”

The ship went down during the Battle

of the Coral Sea on May 8, 1942, with

the loss of 216 sailors. Over 2,700 were

successfully evacuated. The carrier is

believed to have sunk with 35 aircraft

aboard, at least 11 of which have now

been located. These comprise

Douglas TBD Devastators, SBD

Dauntlesses, and a single Grumman

F4F Wildcat. The latter, which fl ew

with US Navy unit VF-3, features

four visible ‘kill’ markings and the

squadron’s Felix The Cat logo.

http://www.fl yingheritage.com

A VF-3 Grumman F4F Wildcat discovered near to the USS ‘Lexington’. BOTH PAUL G ALLEN Around ten Devastators and Dauntlesses have been located.

Hurricane Mk.I R4118 was transported
by road from the Shuttleworth
Collection’s base at Old Warden,
Bedfordshire – its home for more
than two years – to Duxford’s Aircraft
Restoration Company on March 7.
The fi ghter – owned by Hurricane
Heritage’s James Brown – requires
an engine overhaul following some
troublesome issues last year. While
this work is being done, the control
surfaces will be re-covered, and the
radiator, oil cooler and coolant header
tank will be repaired.

“Under the leadership of John

Romain, the Aircraft Restoration

Company has a huge depth of

experience with rebuilds of this type,”

James told FlyPast. “Importantly, they

have enough resources to complete

the rebuild work very quickly once

overhauls to the various components

have been completed. Once R4118 has

been returned to fl ight, I expect her to

be placed on public display within one

of the hangars at Duxford.”

http://www.hurricaneheritage.com

DARREN HARBAR

Hawker Hurricane moves

to Duxford

James Brown (right) looks on as R4118 is loaded for transport from Old Warden. DARREN HARBAR

The world’s only airworthy Scottish

Aviation Twin Pioneer fl ew again late

last year from Wedderburn, south of

Sydney, Australia, after a long period

of restoration.

Twin Pioneer Mk.3 VH-SYS is now

owned by Richard Thompson, who

has completed the work begun by

previous keeper Stephen ‘Sy’ Allsep,

who died in 2015. In recognition

of the latter, the name ‘Sy’ will be

painted below the cockpit.

After completing an extensive list

of pre-fl ight checks on November

25, 2017, the aircraft performed

some taxying tests to check its

brakes, followed by a high-speed run.

Yankee-Sierra lifted off the tarmac

at around 1130hrs in the hands of

Richard, Errol Pillemer and John

Land.

The Twin Pioneer fl ew around the

Wedderburn region for about 30

minutes to enable further checking

of all fl ight systems, before returning

safely to the airfi eld. Based on the

results of this fi rst test fl ight, a

team of volunteers is now preparing

the aircraft for this year’s fl ying

season, which is likely to include

appearances at several airshows and

other public events. PHIL BUCKLEY

Twin Pioneer fl ies again

in Australia

Twin Pioneer VH-SYS fl ying from Wedderburn last November. PHIL BUCKLEY